Northern Ireland based pharma group Almac has secured new premises in Dundalk, County Louth in order to support its global expansion plans in response to increased client demand. The move, which will create 100 jobs within the first two years, is expected to protect the company from any potential Brexit fallout as it “provides continued presence within the European Union in the long term” for the Alac Group. Almac will make a multimillion euro investment in the new facility at IDA Business Park which will be utilised by Almac Pharma Services and Almac Clinical Services, both of which are registered to operate in the Republic of Ireland. The new premises increases the group’s European footprint by 32,000sq ft. This investment comes just weeks after Almac confirmed ambitious plans to expand its operations at its global headquarters in Northern Ireland with the construction of a new laboratory and additional office facilities. The company simultaneously announced investment at its North American site creating an additional 300 full time jobs. These investments will see an increase of Almac’s global headcount to more than 5,000 by the end of 2017. The move strengthens Almac’s existing presence in the Republic of Ireland following the acquisition of Arran Chemical Company facility in Athlone in 2015. The facility has expanded the company’s biocatalysis services, which is part of Almac’s Sciences Business Unit. “This latest investment in Dundalk is a further example of Almac’s ambitious global expansion plans and will deliver up to an additional 100 new jobs within the first two years,” said Alan Armstrong, CEO, Almac Group. “This news comes in addition to our recent announcement of a £27 million investment at our global headquarter site in Craigavon, our US operations and our European facility in Athlone,” he added.